Page 18 of Savage Spades

“You have class in the morning?”

“Yep, don’t forget you’re opening.”

She said goodnight to Jen and headed to the bathroom to take a shower. Despite the hot, stuffiness of the house, the hot water felt great as it ran across her tight muscles. She never noticed when she was bunching her shoulders up until she finally had a chance to relax them. After getting out of the shower, she walked to her bedroom in a towel. She pulled on a pair of pajama bottoms and a t-shirt.

As she lay in bed, her mind wandered to her future. What did she want out of all this? All the stress and tiredness couldn’t last forever. How long was she going to hang on to the bar? What about when she graduated school? Her father would have wanted her to sell it as soon as he died. But she couldn’t think about that in the midst of the funeral and her grief. The bar never brought in much money, but at least she had enough to live off of.

For a moment, she let herself dream of what it would feel like to not have to worry about anything. To have a life like Jen’s, where she could go to work and come home without having to think about inventory or bills. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and went to sleep with that fantasy dancing in her head.

*****

“Do you need help?” Cam yelled to Jen over the loud rock music. She’d come in early, planning on getting some paperwork done before taking over for Jen. But with the way it was crowded with their new regulars, she might have to push paperwork to the side. Again.

Jen shook her head. “I got it. Do what you have to do.”

If this was going to become a regular thing, she might have to hire another bartender...and cook. Cam bit down on her lip, deciding if she really should sit in the office, or if she needed to help out.

“Go, I got it,” Jen said, shooing her away.

“Thanks. I’ll be done as soon as I can.” She walked to the back office and sat down to start working on the liquor order for the week.

The deposit also had to be prepared to take to the bank tomorrow morning. An hour later, she counted out the last of the cash and stuffed it into the deposit envelope. It was the most money she’d deposited in months. The teller at the bank would probably think she stole it. The money would just be taken out soon to pay the bills and make payroll. At least she could enjoy the sight of money in her bank account for a little bit. She stuffed the deposit envelope back in the safe. As she closed the safe door, a loud crash echoed through the building. Jumping up from her chair, she dashed out of the office.

On the floor of her bar, two men rolled around, throwing punches. The sound of skin hitting skin made her stomach turn. The rest of the motorcycle club stood around in a semicircle, watching the fight unfold. Her nostrils flared, and her muscles tensed up. This was funny to them?

“Are you fucking serious, right now?” she snapped, but no one seemed to be paying her any attention.

The bigger man now had the smaller one in a headlock. She took a step towards the fight, ready to break it up. Strong arms wrapped around her waist, preventing her from taking another set. She looked over her shoulder to see that Kit was holding her back. Her nose filled with his woodsy scent, and she hated to admit that being this close against his body gave her a sense of calmness.

“You’re going to get yourself hurt,” he said.

“Get them the fuck out of my bar. I’m not having it.” Her face was hot and probably bright red.

He nodded. “Okay.”

He let go of her and waved his hand at Jen’s new boy toy, Hugo. On cue, Hugo stood up and pulled the men apart.

“Alright, that’s enough,” Hugo said, stepping through the circle and standing next to the two men. That didn’t stop the bigger man from laying another punch on the smaller one. Hugo grabbed the bigger man and hauled him off of the smaller one.

“If you’re going to fight, take it outside!” she added, putting her hands on her hips.

An older man in the back of the group stepped forward. “You heard the lady, take it outside.”

Both guys stood up on their feet. Hugo gave them a push so they would walk outside. After a moment of silence, everyone went back to their drinks. She turned to Kit, who was still standing behind her with a smug grin on his face.

“You think that’s funny?”

“You could thank me.”

She turned on her heels and walked back to the office, his footsteps following behind her. Her fingers itched for a cigarette.

“Thank you? Why would I thank you?” she asked, continuing her walk into the office and sitting down in the black office chair. She looked up at Kit. He had his arms crossed over his chest and was leaning against the wall. If she wasn’t so annoyed with him, she might acknowledge the fact that he looked good tonight. Under his leather cut, his black t-shirt squeezed his biceps.

“Because if I hadn’t waved Hugo over, they probably wouldn’t have stopped until someone tapped out.”

Is that what happened at their bar? At this clubhouse that Jen had told her about? She wouldn’t be surprised.

“Is that how you got that?” she asked, tilting her head towards the bruise just below his eye.

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